Feature Stories

Blaine A. Koops, '76

The Honorable Sheriff Blaine A. Koops has over 33 years of law enforcement and public service experience. He was elected Allegan County Sheriff in 2001 and is currently serving his second term in office.

As Sheriff, Koops has designed and implemented a number of broad-based community policing and corrections programs which have garnered national acclaim to the Allegan County Sheriff's Office.

Koops, who earned a bachelor of science in criminal justice from Grand Valley State University in 1976, retired as Captain of the Holland Police Department in 2000 after 26 years of distinguished service. During his tenure, he was named the Holland Police Department's Police Officer of the Year.

Mr. Koops has served as faculty member for Northwestern University, Michigan State University, and as adjunct faculty and director of criminal justice training for GVSU. He earned a master of public administration degree from Western Michigan University in 1986, and is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy and Executive Leadership Development Program.

Among numerous other affiliations, he is a member of the FBI's National Criminal Justice Information System North Central Working Group, the Michigan Sheriff's Coordinating & Training Council advisory board, and has served as an advisory board member for the GVSU Police Academy for over a decade. Koops and his wife Denise have two daughters and reside in Hamilton, MI.